Irish Retail Bank

Are you preparing for a business case interview? Dive into this prompt and see if you can solve the case.

Case Study Prompt

Our client is the CEO of an Irish retail bank. He was appointed just 2 months ago. The bank has been suffering a decade of declining profitability. The new CEO has asked us to identify what’s been happening to the bank.

So that’s our first task – to figure out why the bank has been suffering from declining profitability. 

How would you figure this out?

Case Study Overview

In this business case interview prep case, your client is the CEO of a retail Irish bank who has just taken over and is looking for ways to fix their problems with profitability quickly. You have been brought in to find the root cause of the decline and propose solutions. It’s your job to dig deep into Profitability and do your research so you can give your client a strategic recommendation.

While it’s a good idea to use the Profitability Framework to solve this case study, we suggest you don’t stop there. Add your own experience and business acumen to the framework to develop a suggestion that’s specific to your client’s needs.

There are diagrams in this case that will give you a chance to hone your quant skills. This business case interview has a qualitative difficulty of 3 out of 4 which makes this an advanced case you would see in a final round interview.

OC&C Interview Tips

What do you need to ace an OC&C interview? The ability to thrive under pressure and keep a clear head.

As you prepare, work on your ability to remain focused when the heat is on.

After you’ve fully reviewed the case study overview, focus on a couple of things:

1. Time yourself throughout the case (2min to build structure and 2min to present it; 2min each for a brainstorming question; 2min for final recommendation)
2. Focus on your communication and polish as you walk through the case

For out-loud practice with an expert, book an hour with an ex-MBB coach.